Is this the right X5 for me?
 

I need to break up with my Subaru. It's been a 3 year long abusive relationship and I'm sick and tired of being assaulted by my car. I'm looking into an 04 X5 3.0I with a six speed manual and 98000 miles on it. They're asking $9800 which I'm assuming I can get down a bit but I'm curious to know if anybody has any experience with these cars at high miles. Do they hold up or am I about to get more expensive car repair bills?

Considering you have the most reliable engine and the most reliable transmission I would see if they'd go a bit lower, but I'll warn you, the manual trans equipped X5's do not last. People actually do buy them sight unseen.

So if it looks in good shape, with some maintenance done, I wouldn't worry. There are members here with over 200k on the I6.

Either way with any used X5 I'd be ready to put down about 2k in the first year on preventative and "catch up" maintenance, but maintenace should be expected of a 10 year old 100k mile vehicle regardless of make/model.

The answer depends a lot on you, and of course, we don't know that particular vehicle either.

Going from a scooby to an X5 is not moving in the direction of cheaper maintenance or less maintenance... The X5 is an awesome vehicle, but will require much attention if you DIY or $$$ if you are planning on paying someone.

There are lots of maintenance items to think about before and by 100k miles. Unless the vehicle has extensive records showing all the PM was done, I would suggest you enter the transaction only if you are willing and capable of doing a lot of work to it. EASILY plan to set aside $5k for first year maintenance/surprises, even if you plan to do mostly DIY. More if you plan on no DIY.

It's the little things that will William McKinley ($500), and Grover Cleveland ($1,000) you to death. There's no such thing as a Benjamin Franklin ($100) repair on a X. With the current Polar Vortex that is hitting the US I'm sure there's going to be a lot of door handle carriers replacement.

Welcome to a decision point on ownership.

The real question that needs to be asked:
Of all the X5's out there is this the right one at the right time?
Step One
First, how was it maintained? Get the records and read them very carefully. This will help answer the first question. Lack of care by previous owner(s) often referred to as deferred maintenance, is the key to your happiness. If you buy cheap and there has been NO care of ownership by the previous owners, you get the experience of repairing, replacing, and dealing with the costs and troubles of bringing the X5 up to BMW standards...where everything works like the first day of delivery/service.

Will you be doing the work yourself? Your experience, available tools, work space, second car options, and abilities (tolerance) will support your process or hinder it. BMW ownership out of warranty is one of two paths, a DIY where you perform diagnostics, repairs, and maintenance (oil, filters etc) and there by save $$$ or you choose the Do it for me path (DIFM) which will be expensive as by nature BMW are not cheap to own (depreciation or up keep). An Indy BMW shop will help here as dealers will be VERY expensive on a 10 year old vehicle.

Your Best Friend: The Xoutpost X5 Forum is a knowledge base of information that can help you with either of these two paths. There are Articles, postings, and forum strings to read as many owners have been there or done that before. Many of us are here to help with questions on "How Tos" so all you have to do is ask.
Good Luck and we hope you will find the RIGHT vehicle and join us in playing, driving , and keeping alive the best SAV out there. :thumbup:

I would hesitate on a 10 year old vehicle myself unless I knew exactly where it spent it's life (no northern / salt environments please) and exactly what maintenance had been performed on it.

That having been said, a well maintained sun-belt BMW with 98,000 miles on it would still be a solid ride. I'd probably replace every hose and the CCV system "just in case", flush the brake lines, and replace all oils (Diff, TC, Engine, Transmission - only because it's a manual).

2002 X5 3.0 269,400 miles
2004 325i 117,600 miles

This is so funny but true.. I had my x for 3 months and i have replaced three door handle carriers. On the upside of things im getting really fast at replacing them. :D

The last one was the drivers door. as soon as i replaced the water cooled alt. I went to start it up for the first time and the carrier broke right at that moment.

Even tho these vehicals can be a major pain in the ass:confused:.. you cant stay mad at them.:thumbup:

Owning an X5 or any BMW, especially an older used one, will be no walk in the park. I think you answered your own question in your last sentence you wrote...lol!!:rofl:

Sound advice my friend.:rolleyes:
I guess you still haven't bought the JEEP that's why you're still around making irrelevant comments.
The OP wants to know if it's gonna be a reliable car that's it.They are the most reliable out of all E53's and yes 6 speed tranny ain't gonna stay on the market for a long time so given the fact that you are ready to catch up with maintenance and have 2k set aside for it, you're good to go.
If the OP is here posting about getting an X5 then he already made his mind on the car he likes.
Some people on this forum need to either move to the Toyota forum or suck it up and pay to fix their BMW- simple as that.

:iagree: +1 No frozen or salted cars for me! Better toasted than rusted.